How many times have you listened to a band and been irritated at the fact that their music doesn't seem to properly reflect the themes set by their lyrics? It can happen a lot, and coming from both a writing and a musical background, I tend to have a pretty dismissive (that is, snobby) attitude towards bands that fail to maintain a strong unity between the two. Fortunately for The Meads Of Asphodel, this has never been a problem, and their bizarre blend of black metal has always seen its topics of Christian and Middle Eastern history augmented by a careful choice of instruments and compositional structure. Damascus Steel, the band's third album, sits at an interesting point in their discography, both continuing upon the path set by their previous material, while also exploring some more sophisticated, perhaps bolder territory.